NEW YORK — Matthew McConaughey, who is drawing praise from critics for his role in the new movie
Mud, has found a way to make negative reviews a positive learning experience.

McConaughey won best supporting male actor at the Independent Spirit Awards for
Magic Mike (2012). He also received the supporting-actor honor for
Magic Mike and
Bernie at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

But there have been some misses for the 43-year-old actor, who cemented his romantic leading-man
status in
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) opposite Kate Hudson. Critics panned
Failure To Launch,
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and
Fool’s Gold.

“A few years ago, I did a really interesting kind of experiment,” he said.

“My assistants gathered every negative review I’ve ever had, and it was a good, thick pile. I
sat down and said, ‘We’re going to read every one of these.’ There was some really good
constructive criticism. I’m like, ‘That’s what I would’ve said about that performance. You’re
right.’ ”

He said it’s most rewarding to read a review in which he and the critic agree about what he was
trying to convey in a performance.

“What’s nice is when you read a review and . . . it’s almost exactly what I wrote down before I
ever did the picture of what I was tryin’, who I thought the guy was.”

In
Mud, McConaughey plays a fugitive who befriends two boys in Arkansas who help him try to
reunite with his long-lost love, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), while hiding from the
authorities.

McConaughey said he was drawn to the way Mud loves Juniper.

“The love he has for this woman is a very simple thing,” he said. “I just hung my hat on (it).”&
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